UAF advocacy resources

Advocacy tool kit

Share your story

The best thing you can do to advocate for the university is share why UAF is important to your friends, family members, and professional and personal networks. Did your UAF education help you start your own business or land your dream job? Do you and your family regularly take advantage of the science and cultural activities at UAF? Do you hire UAF graduates at your business? Your stories are the most compelling.

Say 'thank you'

Serving as an elected official is a huge commitment and is often a thankless job. Regardless of your political leanings, make sure to thank them for stepping up to serve Alaska and our communities.

Tool kit

Use the tools and information below to help you with your advocacy efforts. Check back often; we will update this kit periodically. If you want to keep up with what’s happening in Juneau, you can visit UA Government Relations and scroll down to subscribe to the Capitol Report.

Advocacy tools and points of pride

Points of pride

The University of Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska’s flagship university, was founded in 1917. It has served as the lead campus for the UA system for more than a century.
Today, UAF has the largest presence, impact and geographic scope of any university in Alaska. In addition to its seven campuses, UAF maintains research stations, learning centers and outreach offices across the state.
UAF is the leading Ph.D.-granting university in Alaska. Today, more than 7,000 students across Alaska, the Lower 48 and the world take classes with UAF in pursuit of degrees from occupational endorsements to doctorates. UAF has the broadest mission and student population.
UAF has strong partnerships with business and industry around the state, Lower 48 and world. Employers say UAF grads are prepared to meet Alaska’s unique challenges, and Alaska businesses look to UAF to provide their workforce.
Nearly 20,000 University of Alaska Fairbanks alumni live and work in Alaska’s communities. They are the accountants, engineers, bankers, scientists, medical professionals and support staff who fuel Alaska’s business and industry — UAF serves the entire state.
In fiscal year 2023, UAF brought in about 92 percent of the research dollars for the entire University of Alaska system. It is the only UA branch classified as a research university and ranks in the top 150 of the nearly 900 U.S. institutions that conduct research.
Two-thirds of UAF’s research activity is directly related to Alaska and results in new knowledge about Alaska’s people, health, environment and industries.
In fiscal 2023, every state general fund dollar invested in UAF research drew $8.80 from other sources. In fiscal years 2019 through 2023, UAF research generated more than $675 million for Alaska. The money moves throughout our local and state economy.
UAF improves Alaskans’ quality of life with hundreds of educational and cultural activities. These include music, arts, athletics and classes for schoolchildren and adults. Other offerings include help with small-business development, food preservation, and home building and maintenance.
UAF is America's northernmost Land, Sea and Space Grant institution, one of only a handful of universities in the nation and the only campus in the UA system with this triple-crown distinction.
College ranking systems give UAF high scores in multiple areas. Examples include:
- Times Higher Education ranked UAF No. 25 among the world’s best small universities in 2023.
- UAF's online degree in special education and teaching is one of four online programs in the nation to earn the Quality Matters Exemplary Program status. UAF offers more than 50 fully online degrees, ranging from occupational endorsements and certificates to graduate degrees.
- U.S. News and World Report considers UAF the only national university in Alaska, putting us in a category with the best universities in the country.